Posts By: CHS Rochester

Thursday, August 30 will be the plot day in Grand Meadow with Ken Ferrie speaking. We hope to see you there! Please call your CHS Agronomist with questions, or call the Grand Meadow location at 507-754-5125.

The Chatfield feed store will be having a Parasite Evaluation Clinic on Wednesday, June 13 from 10 am to 2 pm with lunch served for those attending the clinic. Bags for fecal samples will be available at the feed store. For more information, call the Chatfield feed store at 507-867-4311.

Join us as we take the next step in our grain marketing journey. We will review the basics of grain marketing before taking a more in-depth look at options and compass contracts along with different ways to include these tools in your marketing plan.

Denise Montgomery is retiring January 12. Denise started with Ostrander Farmers Cooperative in 2010 and has been in Wykoff for her entire career with CHS. Denise, thank you for all that you have done for CHS and the Wykoff area. Over the years she has developed strong friendships with our farmer customers, which has supported our business. Developing relationships is as necessary as having a good bid, and she will be missed. Enjoy retirement, Denise!

At its September meeting, the CHS Board of Directors made a number of decisions regarding equity management. The following letter from CHS Board Chairman Dan Schurr outlines these decisions:

Dear Cooperative Owner,

CHS was built on the shared values of managing our business with the highest integrity, building lasting and mutually rewarding relationships, and partnering for our collective success.

These values guide every decision your CHS Board of Directors makes on your behalf. Thanks to the dedication and hard work of those owners and employees that came before us, CHS is a cooperative that’s been built for the long haul. Your Board of Directors will ensure that tradition continues. It’s with this spirit that we share recent Board decisions around equity management.

Despite solid performance in our core businesses, a few large events have resulted in substantial fiscal 2017 financial losses in certain patronage-based businesses. These events included a loss attributed to a large producer loan and business unit asset impairments in the United States.

It has been the Board’s practice to offset patronage-sourced operating losses against the income in patronage allocation units. This practice will continue for fiscal year 2017, with some modification due to the size of the operating losses. Specifically, some of these patronage-based business operating losses will be offset against patronage income from specific allocation units and some will be offset against the unallocated capital reserve. In addition, the CHS Board made the following patronage-related decisions at its September meeting:

The CHS Board will retain 10 percent of patronage-sourced earnings to the unallocated capital reserve, as in years past.

CHS will issue non-qualified equity certificates for FY17 patronage-based earnings. No cash patronage will be issued in 2018 based on FY17 performance.These non-qualified equity certificates will be included in the equity revolvement program and will be redeemed at the discretion of the CHS Board. Non-qualified equity certificates are generally not taxed until redeemed.

The CHS Board has designated a $10 million cap for individual member redemption for estates and age 70 retirements, per the established redemption policy. No member-cooperative equity will be redeemed in 2018. The Board will continue to review equity retirements on a quarterly basis.

These decisions were not made lightly and came after much discussion and assessment about how best to serve CHS and all of our owners for the long term.

While CHS experienced a challenging year, we are taking necessary steps to restore financial flexibility and minimize operational risk to ensure a strong future for our owners.

Your CHS Board of Directors remains committed to serving you. Your continued business is vital to the strength and growth of CHS, and is greatly valued. If you have questions specific to your equity, please feel free to contact CHS Patron Equities at 800-328-6539, ext. 6124.

The CHS Foundation, funded by charitable gifts from CHS Inc., is committed to developing the next generation of leaders in agriculture. As part of the foundation’s work centered on advancing agriculture education, it has awarded scholarships to 14 Minnesota high school graduates. The Minnesota students are among 100 students representing 23 states and Canada. Each will receive a $1,000 scholarship to cover expenses associated with their freshman year of college.

“The success of our hometown communities and rural America depends on students with a strong interest in agriculture to pursue ag-focused degrees and be the innovators to feed the world into the future,” says Nanci Lilja, president, CHS Foundation. “We’re pleased to recognize these students with scholarships and join their communities in looking forward to the important contributions they’ll make to the ag industry.”

These Minnesota high school students are among the 2017 CHS scholarship winners:

An independent, external committee selected recipients based on their career goals, essays, extracurricular involvement, transcripts and reference letters. In addition to high school scholarships, the CHS Foundation funds an additional 200 scholarships for students enrolled in an agricultural-related program at colleges across the country. These scholarships range from $1,000 to $2,000 and are directly administered by more than 30 CHS partner schools. Click here for more information.

About the CHS Foundation

The CHS Foundation is funded by charitable gifts from CHS Inc., the nation’s leading farmer-owned cooperative and a global energy, grains and foods company. As a part of the CHS stewardship focus, the CHS Foundation supports organizations that develop future leaders for agriculture through education and leadership programs, improve agricultural safety and enhance community vitality in rural America. Learn more at chsinc.com/stewardship.